Antarctica Cruise - March 1, 2016 Day tour of Peru; train ride to Aguas Calientes

After eating breakfast, we checked our large luggage at the hotel desk for them to hold until we returned on Wednesday night, and took our small luggage on our tour bus.  

It was a beautiful day.  We had a full day tour.  We stopped at a weaving center at the village of Qorao, Awana Cancha, where we observed the four types of Peruvian cameloids:  llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos.  

George had to stop and tell his story about being in China at the Great Wall and not being able to get off a two-hump camel.  Believe me, he had more people watching him try to do that than were looking at the Great Wall itself!  It was hysterical, and we all still laugh about it today!

We all got a chance to feed the animals with some of their favorite green stuff--not sure what it was, but they loved it!

The animals would come and eat their feed right out of your mouth!

Joyce was very daring, too!

Our guide then showed us how the wool is spun onto spindles by hand and all of the natural items that are used for dye.

After the wool is put into the pots and left for awhile, the beautiful colors are made.

They are then woven into many beautiful items.

We saw a young woman on the ground weaving.

But what was behind her was even more interesting than the beautiful work she was doing . . .

 

Just like most all of the other mothers that worked, they bring their children with them.  This little guy was being so good, just lying there behind his mother as she worked.

Here was another young lady working with the dyed wool, also.

Next we saw the major food crops that are grown in Peru.  So many different varieties of potatoes!  Potatoes are a major crop in Peru (I don't think they can compare to our good old Idaho spuds--but anyway . . .)  Our guide told us that the new mothers-in-law give a potato to their future daughter-in-law and see if she can totally peel a potato without breaking the peeling from one end of the potato to the other to see if she is a worthy wife for her son.  Hah!

 Yes, these are the ones she would give to the future daughter-in-law!  The ones with all the knots and indentions!

 

This was interesting.  The white-looking objects are freeze-dried potatoes that will last for years.  They are made by soaking the potatoes in the icy cold water of rivers and streams for several days, and then sun-drying them.  They have been a part of the diet of this area for centuries.  To eat them, you need to re-hydrate the dried potatoes by soaking them in water.  They are mainly used to make Andean soups and stews, or you can just cook them and eat them with corn and cheese.

Another crop that has many different varieties is corn.  In the back and on the left side, you can see how many different kinds there are.  The purple or black corn on the left is used to make our favorite Peruvian drink that we asked for often:  Chicha morada, which is an unfermented drink made from purple maize, and may also, have pineapple and spices in it.  Delicious!

After going to their gift shops, we headed back to our van.

We stopped at an overlook place to see the beautiful valley below, known as
"The Sacred Valley of the Incas."  Because of its beauty and because so many crops could be grown here, this valley was greatly appreciated by the Incas.

Here is the group of ten that we traveled with:  Doug and Joyce, George and Me, Gary and June Bywater, Dennis and Colleen Johnson, with our Cruise Directors, Pam and Dan Newbold.

As per usual, there were vendors wherever anyone stopped.  This little guy was selling items, but we weren't interested.  We just paid him to take a picture with us.

The entire hillsides were so green an beautiful. 

 We next visited the little town of Pisaq.

  Here we watched an artisan in a workshop creating silver jewelry--painstakingly doing it by hand.

We, also, had fun going up and down the cobblestone streets seeing all of the street vendor items.  It is amazing to see how good these little children are as their mothers pack them everywhere tied on their backs.

The young man on the left became my BFF.  He was selling whistles (that he told me he made himself.  I don't think so.)  He followed me everywhere and started telling me everything he knew about America.  He was a very smart young man.  He asked me my name and called me, "Miss Laura," and then he started to tell me what to pay for everything--including how much I should pay the little girl who came up to me and showed me her live bunny rabbit.  Then another young man came along, but he whispered in my ear, "Competition!"  I laughed!  

George and I got such a kick out of the children! 

Just as we were boarding our bus, Joyce snapped this picture of the tiniest little Peruvian man I had ever seen.   

As we left the village of Pisaq, we passed by the beautiful countryside.  You could see the terraced land just as the Incas did so many hundred years before!

 As we were driving through small villages on our way to Urubamba, we saw giant statues of guinea pigs in the little village of Lamay--they are considered a real delicacy here in Peru and are raised just for food.  All of a sudden a girl came up to the window where Joyce was sitting.  I hollered, "Joyce, take the picture!"  Luckily, she got it!

Can you believe it?  Guinea pig on a stick instead of hotdog on a stick!

   Soon we arrived at a beautiful hacienda tourist restaurant where the food was much more appetizing!

 June Bywater with Joyce going into the restaurant.

The inside of the restaurant was definitely true Peruvian art.

 We ate the most delicious buffet lunch out on the veranda with beautiful Peruvian and American music done by two Peruvians out on the lawn.

 We loved their music so much, we even bought one of their CDs.

 After lunch, we walked down to the exquisite gardens below.

Pam, our cruise director, me, and Joyce

There were several animals grazing on the lawn.  The Peruvians really love their llamas and alpacas!

As we were walking around looking at the animals and the gardens, here came a little Peruvian girl.

 She looked so adorable, all dressed up in her traditional Peruvian dress and hat.

She didn't have to say anything.  She just showed George what she had for sale.  He took a look and couldn't resist that adorable little face.

He didn't buy anything, but gave her some coins that brought a smile to that beautiful little face!

We traveled on after we left the restaurant and gardens.  Along the way, we saw these little capsules (near the top) attached to the sides of the rocky and steep cliffs.  These are actually pods that you can stay in like a hotel attached to a cliff--for the right amount of money, of course.

 

 As soon as we got to Ollantaytambo, the bus driver dropped us off to walk through a little portion of the city to get to where the ruins were.

Seeing the ancient Fortress of Ollantaytambo was really breath-taking.  We were seeing 500 years of history preserved!  The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between 1400 and 1533 AD and their empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south, making it the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time. 

Master stone masons, the Incas constructed large buildings, walls and fortifications using finely-worked blocks - either regular or polygonal - which fitted together so precisely no mortar was needed. With an emphasis on clean lines, trapezoid shapes, and incorporating natural features into these buildings, they have easily withstood the powerful earthquakes which frequently hit the region. 

The Incas used terracing to maximize land area for agriculture (especially for maize.)

They were, also, experts at diverting water, carrying it across great distances, channeling it underground, and creating spectacular outlets and fountains.

Storehouses can be seen in the mountains.

The distinctive sloping trapezoid form and fine masonry of Inca buildings were, besides their obvious aesthetic value, also used as a recognizable symbol of Inca domination throughout the empire.

Sadly, a damaging civil war for control of the empire was taking place just when the European treasure-hunters arrived.  In addition, a 20-year El Nino weather condition that caused so much drought, it became so difficult to raise crops.   It was this combination of factors - a perfect storm of rebellion, disease, and invasion plus the El Nino - which brought the downfall of the mighty Inca Empire, the largest and richest ever seen in the Americas. 

The Inca language Quechua lives on today and is still spoken by some eight million people. There are also a good number of buildings, artifacts, and written accounts which have survived the ravages of conquerors, looters, and time. There has been much lost, but what is left definitely witnesses to the wealth, ingenuity, and high cultural achievements of this great, but short-lived civilization.

Walking back through the village, we saw this beautiful mother and little guy.  I could have just taken pictures of the people every minute!  They are truly beautiful people!

The shops were always so colorful wherever we went--the Peruvians love color!

And the dogs--they were everywhere!  Never on a leash.  Mostly they just ignored the tourists--thank goodness!

Suddenly, I saw little guy walking down the street crying.  I called out to Pam who always carries candy with her for the children.

That really made the little guy smile!  He was so adorable.  We looked and saw his mother and grandmother who were street sweepers a little further up ahead watching us.

Taking pictures of this happy little guy just warmed our hearts.

George went up to the mother and grandmother and gave them some pesos, which really made them smile, too.  He came back with tears in his eyes!  It really affected all of us!

We then walked to the train station where we caught the train for our 1 1/2 hour ride to Aguas Calientes, the gateway town to Machu Picchu. 

The scenery along the way was spectacular--snow-capped peaks, tremendous cliffs, vibrant green hills . . .

and rivers full of turbulent waters!

It was nearly dark by the time we reached the small town where we would be staying.  We were met at the train station by our hotel stewards where our luggage was collected, and then we had to walk up a little ways to our hotel Tierra Viva, because the river had washed out a portion of the road earlier and had never been completely repaired.  We all went out for pizza a short ways from the hotel and went back to our hotel to bed.  Pictures of the tremendous scenery we were in are on the next post!